Shakespeare Reflection

I think that Shakespeare's plays are very useful and should be used in English classes.  Many students don't like Shakespeare because of his writing style.  When I first started reading Shakespeare's work back in 9th grade, I didn't like it at all.  I didn't understand the way he wrote and it confused me throughout that year.  Slowly, as I started to read more of his plays like Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth, I could understand his writing style better and enjoyed reading them more. My favorite out of all of Shakespeare's work is Othello.  I just really liked the plot and I thought Iago was a really interesting bad guy.  I usually don't care too much for the bad guy in Shakespeare's work but I liked how Iago was so cunning and witty.   
For my senior year, we have read Macbeth in my English class.  Overall, I really enjoyed the book.  It was a little hard to understand the plot and know what was going on in the beginning but once it got going it was a great story.  It was sort of confusing trying to figure out how each person related to each other.  I kept forgetting who was who which made it a little confusing going throughout the play.  I thought the end was very fitting. I'm sort of glad that Macbeth was killed the way he was.  At the beginning I liked Macbeth but after all of his greed and selfishness I despised him.  I didn't really see what Lady Macbeth was thinking throughout the story.  I thought she was more crazy than Macbeth.  Even though there were a lot of crazy people in Macbeth, I still enjoyed it.  I felt that it was different than the other plays he wrote.  Macbeth wasn't really a love story like most of Shakespeare's work.  This was about power and greed which was a nice change to what I was used to. 

Goblin Bullies

In a small town up in the North Pole lives many creatures from all different sizes and shapes.  The wind blows against the old wooden houses and the "Welcome to Mysteryville" sign.  Snow falls as the first bell rings for the students to go to class.  In the school, there are two different animals and creatures that go there. First, there are the goblins.  They are the mean and most dreadful creatures in the school.  You wouldn't want to pass by them in the hallways.  Then there are the turkeys, which are the ordinary everyday students. 
Out of these turkey's is one that stands out, whose name is Tom Gobbler.  He's the coolest turkey in the school.  As he walks in his class, he sees his friends as well as his zombified teacher, Mrs. Roasted.  When the turkeys get old, they become zombified and go into teaching at the schools.  As Tom sits, a voice goes over the intercom.  "Good morning students! Ho Ho Ho! This is your principal, Mr. Claus.  Ho Ho Ho!  I just wanted to say Christmas is coming soon so you better have been good this year. Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!" 
During class Tom asks Mrs. Roasted to use the restroom and he walks out.  While walking, he hears gobbles of distress.  He follows the noise and sees the goblins picking on and beating up another turkey.  Tom wants to help but knows that if he gets into a fight his senior year, he won't be able to graduate.  When the goblins see him, they laugh and run away.  Tom helps them other turkey and runs back to class to tell Mrs. Roasted what he saw.  Worried, she picks up the phone and calls Mr. Claus. 
Throughout the rest of the day, Tom is wondering what will happen to him or the goblins.  The next day at school, an announcement comes that Tom needs to see the principal.  When Tom arrives, the principal tells him that he has talked to the goblins and has given them the worst punishment Tom has ever heard.  No presents for the goblins unless they promise not to pick on anyone again.  Tom is happy that he told some one and helped out his fellow turkeys. 
The goblins didn't promise so they received coal that year.  When school started up again after winter break, the goblins swore they wouldn't bully anyone else.  They were miserable that break because they had no presents to play with.  Tom stood up for what he believed in and helped make peace between the turkeys and goblins.

The Storm

The storm is slowly moving over here,
The wind is whistling and going through my spine,
At night the darkness is coming closer and near,
Their chills are just about as bad as mine.
The rain is dripping down my soaking chin,
The wet concrete is splashing water outside,
My fear is tingling up and down my skin,
And look at those kids going down the slide.
I calmly open my eyes to see if it's clear,
The warmth I feel is oh so very nice,
The sun above looks like a glowing sphere,
So bright and warm is what the rays entice.
I know that everything is going to be alright,
And now it's starting to back to the night.

3 Questions

How did they play up religious concepts even more?
The movie Beowulf and Grendel, portrayed more religious concepts than the story from the book.  One of the main parts was showing the king being baptized.  This in a way symbolizes the old Angelo-Saxon way of life dying and turning into Christianity.  The priest had a greater role in the film than in the book.  He blessed the warriors and when Grendel came up to him, nothing happened.  This symbolizes the power that God had and could protect the priest.

What major changes to the plot were made?
The most noticeable plot change that I saw was the change in personality of Beowulf.  In the book, he is very boastful and full of pride but in the movie, he's not at all.  When Grendel loses him arm is another point.  Beowulf is suppose to rip off Grendel's arm to show his power but in the movie, Grendel does it himself.  In the movie we find out Grendel had a son which changes the viewers mind about Grendel.  The audience feels sorry for him and his son.  The movie also cut out the entire dragon scene. I think they did this to keep the story only on Beowulf and Grendel.

Of these changes, which was effective & which was not?
I thought the part when the arm comes off was bad.  Beowulf was the one who was suppose to tear it off to show his strength and power. I actually liked Beowulf's personality better in the movie than in the book.  I felt he was conceded and prideful in the book which made me not like him as much.  I didn't really think the part about the kid was necessary.  It didn't really fit into the story very well.

It's meant to be that way

Gay marriage is starting to become a big issue in the world today.  People believe that they are free to choose what they want.  I understand what those people are saying but I don't agree with them.  Don't get me wrong, I believe that freedom to choose is good and is a big part of being in the United States but I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman.  That's the way that it was meant to be.  Why would we be made the way we are if it was suppose to be between two people of same sex?  If gay marriage was allowed then they wouldn't be able to produce children.  The world wouldn't exist the way we know it if we weren't able to reproduce.  That is probably the most important fact.  It has always been that way between a man and a woman.  I just don't think that being gay is the way to go.  Freedom to choose can only go so far.  It's hard to explain but I believe that marriage between a man and a woman is the way it was meant to be.

Deportation Article

I believe that if an immigrant comes to the U.S. illegally, they should get kicked out.  If they were a baby when they came they should be allowed to stay if they want.  I don't think it should matter if they have lived in the U.S for a long time. If they don't have the right paper work and have never been allowed to be a U.S citezen then they should go back.  I think that it's their own fault for coming here illegally and they should have to pay the consequences. 
If the families have the right paperwork and their green card, they should have nothing to worry about.  For the daughter in the article,(Article), I think that she should be able to stay but the mom should be deported.  I don't know why she is being deported but it must be that she's here illegally. 
I've wondered why it has taken this long for the feds to get them and why didn't she get her papers done during this time.  This is why I think she should go.  They had all this time to do the paper work and it has yet to be done.  I'm very much for stricter border control.  I believe that illegal immigration is a crime and they should be sent back. 
I'm all for immigrants coming to America to enjoy the freedom and lifestyle but they should do it legally.  I do believe that what they are doing to the daughter is wrong and she should be able to stay because she was only a baby when she came.  She wasn't able to choose then and I believe that she should have that choice now.

SC-What's mine is NOT yours

Article 1

The reason that I named the article this is because I feel this way about many things.  Everyone's always trying to mooch off of me.  They think that what's mine is their's, but it's not.  I'm all into sharing things with others but sometimes I don't think I should give everything I have to them. Why should someone else succeed off my hard work? 

Article 2

Sometimes I don’t understand high school especially Kahuku High.  It seems like people always want to be my friends when I have something they want.  One thing that really irritates me is when others want to cheat off my work.  When I say no they get upset making it seem like I was suppose to give him my homework.  One experience I had was a few years ago a guy in my class asked if he could copy my homework.  I told him no and he acted like I was the bad guy.  I didn’t even know him that well and he still expected me to give him my homework.  I don’t get that around here.  Everyone here was brought up thinking what’s mine is yours so they can have anything they want.  That is really irritating because they were too lazy to do it themselves. 

            This could also relate to other things too like people borrowing things.  I hate when others ask to borrow my things but they never return it.  My neighbor asked to borrow our lawn mower and didn’t return it for a month.  When they did it was dirty and out of gas.  That kills me sometimes when people don’t take care of your things when you let them borrow it.  That’s one thing with me.  If I borrow something from someone else I always take good care of it and let no one touch it.  Some people just don’t understand that it’s not respectful to use other’s things and break or mess them up.

            I also hate it when others ask to borrow things which you don’t really want them to borrow.  My family used to have a kayak and my neighbors would always want to borrow it.  The kayak was expensive and we didn’t want them to break it.  When we got it back one time it had a huge scratch on the side of it.  Ever since then we didn’t let anyone use it unless they were family.  Most of these people are just free loaders and want to take your stuff.  Living here in Hawaii I’m just going to have to deal with it because it’s all over the island.
Article 3 
I first came across Hunger Games when my sister interrupted me cooking dinner during the summer.  She told me that it was a great book and that I should read it.  I'm not that much into reading but I decided "What do I have to lose?".  The cover of it interested me.  It had a symbol of a bird in a ring on the front and it was jet black.  From then I knew that this book would interest me.
The book is set in the future of a post-apocoliptic world which used to be North America. It is spit into twelve districts which vary in wealth.  The main character, Katniss Everdeen, is in District 12, the lowest district.  Every year the Council or goverment holds "Hunger Games" to keep the districts in line. The names are chosen randomly from each District and Katniss' name is called.  
District 12 is not the favorite going into the games.  She is forced to go to the "Hunger Games" and fight for her life.  The contestants must fight in an arena of the Council's choosing. The last one to survive is the winner and is awarded great treasures.  
I personally thought the book was great.  It had a lot of action and adventure along with excitement.  It kept me guessing on what was going to happen next.  I couldn't put the book down.  This was probably one of the best books I have read. I think that if you're into adventure and action, this book would be good for you.  It gets a little corny at some parts but the excitement gets you through it.  I liked the book and I would give it a try if I were you.